Azu is a spicy dish of Tatar cuisine: it must contain tomatoes or tomato sauce, as well as pickled cucumbers. Traditionally, it is prepared from meat, but nothing prevents the housewives from replacing meat with fish.
Step-by-step recipe for fish azu
Ingredients:
- fish fillet - 700 g;
- onions - 1 pc.;
- potatoes - 2-3 pcs.;
- tomato - 1 pc. (or 2 tablespoons of tomato paste);
- pickles - 3 pcs.;
- carrots - 1 pc.;
- garlic - 3 cloves;
- bay leaf - 1 pc.;
- ground black pepper - 1 pinch;
- spices for fish - 0.5 teaspoon;
- broth (or just water) - 100 ml;
- salt and herbs to taste.
For the basics, use a fish fillet: there are no bones in it, which will save you time and save your household and guests from accidental bones in the dish. You can also buy fish for the basics, which has only a ridge, few ribs and no other small bones. These varieties include tilapia (or sea chicken), sole, vomer, flounder, horse mackerel, sea bream, sea bass, pike perch, trout, mullet.
Defrost fish, peel, wash, cut into small cubes. Wash and peel vegetables. Remove the skin from the tomatoes (make an incision crosswise and dip in boiling water for a few minutes). Cut the onion into half rings, potatoes and tomatoes into medium-sized cubes, grate the carrots on a coarse grater.
Pickled cucumbers are best peeled and then chopped or coarsely grated.
Heat vegetable oil in a frying pan, fry onions in it until transparent and potatoes until golden brown.
Add tomatoes and fish fillets to the pan. Fry for another 10 minutes over medium heat. Some housewives at this stage sprinkle vegetables and fish with an even layer of flour and mix.
Next, pour water or broth into the pan, add cucumbers and simmer for another 5 minutes.
Season with salt, pepper, add spices, bay leaf, crushed garlic. Simmer for another 3 minutes. Chopped greens can be added at this stage, but if you like their fresh taste, it is better to sprinkle them on the basa just before serving.
Fish azu is a win-win culinary option
Delicate fish basics are ready. Let it brew a little under the lid and serve. To make the dish more satisfying, you can accompany it with a cereal side dish or serve it as an independent dish. This is a great option for those who keep a lax fast and allow themselves to fish.
Boneless fish (usually sea fish) have a high nutritional value, a high content of iodine useful for the body, it is well absorbed and not as heavy as meat dishes.
Another advantage is that the fish basics are prepared quickly. If you have frozen fish fillets in the refrigerator, the appearance of unexpected guests will not take you by surprise: it will take a couple of minutes to defrost the fillets, and another half an hour will not prepare an unusual dish that guests will certainly appreciate.
